


Drunk, on a Tuesday.

by definitelynotafan



Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Drunk Dialing, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-16
Updated: 2018-11-16
Packaged: 2019-08-24 14:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16642133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/definitelynotafan/pseuds/definitelynotafan
Summary: Nick gets a call from a drunk Louis Tomlinson at 5:27 on a Tuesday morning.





	Drunk, on a Tuesday.

**Author's Note:**

> I will post this in parts until the end of the year.  
> I've finished writing it and just need to do a bit of editing.   
> (I'll add tags as I go along.)
> 
> Also, I've started writing this in the beginning of the year, so Nick is still doing the Breakfast Show.
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!

Nick is about to get dressed for work when his phone rings. It startles him, no one usually calls him that early. He checks the time on his bedside table, just to make sure that he isn’t really late and it’s Fiona calling to ask where the hell he is. 5:27am. Probably not Fiona then. He puts on his boxers and grabs his phone from the bed. The screen reads “Tomlinson” and Nick does a double take. He wasn’t aware that he still had Louis’ number, it’s not like he ever called or texted him. For a second Nick thinks about not picking up, it’s probably just a pocket dial anyway. But his fingers don't get the message, because before he makes up his mind his thumb is already swiping the green dot on the screen. A second later Nick can hear mumbling from the phone. It takes a moment for him to wake up from his stupor and hold the phone to his ear.

“Hiya?” He says. It’s more like a question than a greeting.

“Heeeey!” Louis draws the greeting out. He sounds cheery, way too cheery.

Nick doesn’t know what to say.

“Are you... okay?” is what he goes with after several seconds of silence.

“Locked meself out of m’ flat.” Louis mumbles.

Nick isn’t quite sure how he is supposed to help. He’s standing in his bed room in just his pants taking to a drunk Louis Tomlinson when he should already be out the front door.

“How'd you do that?” he asks.

“Lost the keys.” Louis replies.

Nick can tell that Louis is putting a lot of effort into speaking clearly and it makes him worry.

“How drunk are you, Louis?” he asks.

“Quite a bit.” Louis giggles.

“Why did you call me?” Nick asks, trying to keep the confusion out of his voice.

Nick knows that he is a very reliable friend. It’s one of his best qualities. He will always be there when the people in his life need him. But he and Louis aren’t friends. They are friends of friends. Sometimes their paths cross at award shows. He can’t think of a reason for why he’d be the person Louis calls when he’s drunk and locked out of his flat.

"Harry's is the closest spare key. It's in his flat but he's off in Australia…" Louis trails off.

"And I have a spare key for Harry's flat." Nick gets it then.

"Yep."

"You do realise that I have to be on air in less than an hour and should already be on my way to the BBC." Nick says. He's trying to get dressed further, holding his phone between his head and his shoulder.

"Oh… um… didn't think it was this early already." There is a humming noise. Maybe a car drives past Louis. "I'll wait until after the show then."

"Where?" Nick asks.

"Outside my flat, I guess? Don't have anywhere else to go. No one's picking up."

Nick pictures Louis sitting drunk on a door step somewhere in London. Even with the rising sun it will still be cold and soon people will be out on the streets and will see the drunk/hungover popstar. Christ, the image tugs on his heart strings.

He checks the time again, 5:43, and sighs.

"Louis? You know where I live, right? Get a cab here. You can wait in my flat. Maybe sober up a bit and I'll take you to get the spare after the show." Nick is quite proud of how fast he came up with the solution, especially considering that his brain is still half asleep.

"What? Your place?" Louis asks.

"Yeah, I'll text you the address to be sure. I'll wait for you here."

He hangs up and texts his address to Louis. Then he calls into work that he might be late and asks Adele to stay on the air for a bit longer and cover for him. This is a mess, Nick thinks as he struggles to come up with a good excuse as to why he is late. It's not like he can tell them the truth. He loves the people at work and he's trust them but there is a difference between trusting them with trivial stuff and telling a radio station where a drunk popstar is at 6 in the morning. Nick would very much like this to stay under wraps. For Louis' sake.

Usually Pig and Stinky just go back to sleep after he has taken them out back to do their business but this morning it is as like they can feel something is about to happen, as they shuffle around the front door with Nick. Maybe he is radiating nervous energy. Maybe his dogs are just smarter than everyone else. He has suspected so for a while.

Nick is so focused on waiting for the door bell to ring that he jumps when his phone vibrates in his hand. Pig whines while he struggles for a second to breathe normally again before picking up.

"…….. heeeeey." Nick draws out the greeting after a while, having forgotten how he normally answers the phone.

"Think I'm here." comes Louis' mumbled response.

He struggles for a moment to open the front door without letting his dogs out but sure enough, Louis is standing in front of him. He's wearing black track suit bottoms and a matching jacket over a plain white t-shirt. His hair is matted to his forehead He still looks unfairly handsome, Nick finds.

"Well, come in then. You must be knackered." He says as he takes a step backwards to let Louis pass.

Louis nods and slowly follows behind, almost tripping over Stinky twice. Since this all is more than last minute, Nick hadn't had the time to make up the guest bedroom, but he figures in the state that Louis is in he won't mind sleeping in Nick's bed, and Nick can just chuck his bedding in the laundry after Louis leaves. It's probably needed soon anyway. They don't talk while they walk up the stairs, Nick's mind filled with a buzzing but no coherent thought. This is the first time he has been alone with Louis in a room and he can't explain why but it's making Nick very much aware of himself. He can't help himself but throw glances around the flat, wondering what Louis sees, what he thinks of it.

"I've put a bottle of water next to the bed… you should probably drink some before you fall asleep. You know, try to make the hangover a bit less shit." Nick says when they get to his bed room. Louis is still unusually quiet, it's off putting.

"Thanks… yeah probably should." Louis says and a small smile spreads across his face. Then he trips on the spot and Nick has to catch him.

"Whoops. Better get you into bed then, right? Do you need help undressing?"

Louis shakes his head but Nick keeps a steady hand on Louis' back as he slowly leads him towards the side of the bed. Louis manages to toe off his sneakers and take off his jacket and trackies while Nicks stands and watches him, feeling only a bit like a creep. He makes sure not to stare at Louis' thighs. After a small peek. He's only human and Louis has one of the best thighs in the country. Nick is not to be blamed.

"Need anything else?" Nick asks one last time, but Louis only shakes his head, his eyes already closed.

"Sweet dreams, then, popstar." Nick mumbles and as he leaves the room.

Only when he is back downstairs does he let out a huge breath he's been holding in for far too long. Louis Tomlinson is lying in his bed. Actual Louis Tomlinson off of singing and shit. He can't seem to wrap his head around it.

"Fuuuuuuuuck!" he breathes out. Then he gets ready and calls a cab. This day already feels like it's been going on forever and he hasn't even made it into work yet.

Nick makes it on the air right after the news beat at 7:30. He's never been late before and he's more than aware of his every word, not wanting to get into any more trouble than he already is. Fiona keeps sending him glances every now and then while he laughs into the mic and does the introduction. During the first bigger block of songs Nick finally takes a deep breath and slumps back into his chair.

"What the fuck, Nick?" Fiona asks as soon as the mics are off.

"I know! I'm sorry! I really am. Lo-- … a … friend called and needed my help." Nick says. He doesn't want to use Louis' name. Fiona would never blurt it out on air, but there is a small part of him that wants this to be a secret from any one. Nick doesn’t know when he got so protective.

"This has never happened before." Fiona says, suspicion clear in her voice.

"I know, and it won't ever happen again." He says with determination.

Something crosses her face, but she lets it go and Nick is relieved.

"Okay, let's go through the show then. Niall is coming on in about an hour. You remember, right? We're gonna do the honesty game."

No, Nick had completely forgotten. His anxiety spikes again. How could he have forgotten about this?

And before he knows it, it's gone 9 and Niall is there in the studio with him. Nick barely had the time to prepare and is doing a poor job of staying focused. Worse than usual. Something about Niall being here makes him extra nervous. As if Niall will somehow smell Louis on Nick and then question it.

“Our guest on the breakfast show this morning is Niall Horan! Gooood mooorning Niall!” Nick greets him, making sure to sound as cheery as always when they are back on air after the last song break. Niall is looking tired but relaxed and they had been chatting for a bit while the music was playing. The whole time Nick's head had been screaming _I have your best mate in my bed_.

“Good Morning Grimmy.”

Niall sounds happy as always and they joke around for a bit before playing his song. Nick has of course heard it before and tells Niall how much he likes it. Then it's time for the game.

“So, you’re here with new music but we thought this time we’ll also play the honesty game. You haven’t played this one yet, right?" Niall shakes his head. "So, the game is simple, I’ll ask a question and we both write our answers on the boards. On the count of three we show each other the answers and if they are the same we don’t have to share them. However, if we write down different answers, we’ll have to share them with the listeners. Got everything?" Nick explains quickly, more for the benefit of the listeners, since he had explained it to Niall before the show already.

“Yes.” Niall nods and smiles.

“Okay, remember, being honest is the key." Nick grins at Niall before picking up the first question. "The first question is .... who is your favourite member of One Direction?” A classic. There was no way around that question with Niall playing.

They had been worried when coming up with the questions a couple of days ago, that Niall will not want to be remembered about his 1D days in every interview but then they had thought about how Niall himself keeps bringing it up and had gone for it. Niall proves how not bothered he is about it when he lets out a bark of a laugh before starting to write down his answer, shielding his board away from Nick, of course.

Nick doesn’t think and when he looks down he has written down “Louis.” His hand had been faster than his brain, really. Never before has he declared Louis to be his favourite. He had even called Tina out when she had proclaimed Niall to be his favourite after the last time he had been on. He puts it down to Louis showing up on his door step and before he can change his answer to anything else, Niall puts down the pen. With a beating heart he hopes that Niall agrees with him on that one. They are best mates, surely Niall wrote down Louis?

“3 ..... 2 ...... 1 ...... go!” Nick announces.

Nick shows his board and his heartbeat skyrockets even more. He’s glad that they never put him on the heart monitor challenge.

Niall’s board says “I love all 4 of them equally.”

If Niall is surprised by Nick’s answer he doesn’t let it show. But Nick will have to share with the rest of the listener and he isn’t excited about that.

"Okay, that two different answers, you know what this means, Niall." Nick says, forcing his voice to stay an even tone.

"We have to read out the answers." Niall smirks.

“Yes. Niall has gone for the diplomatic answer and put “I love them all equally.”

Niall grins.

“Tell them what you wrote down Grimmy.” He asks.

With a sigh he answers.

“I have put down “Louis”” Nick admits.

“And why is that Grimmy?” Niall asks, still laughing and Nick doesn’t have a good answer for that. He was just thinking about Louis and his hand acted on its own accord. But he can’t tell Niall that.

“Well … I just really like his music. And he seems like he'd be a good lad to go to the pub for a pint with, doesn't he?”

“I have to say, the bit about his music would offend me a bit if Louis wasn’t absolutely brilliant. He’s my best mate and so talented. It's insane, really.”

"Yeah he really is. Wanna hear his latest song? We haven't played in a while." Nick says, already queuing up _Miss You_ to play next.

The text screen is getting blown up with people texting in but Nick is too afraid to look at what they are saying. He’ll also have to stay away from his mentions on Twitter for the next couple of hours. If not days. He’s also afraid of Harry’s interrogation, which he is sure will follow. This conversation will not stay off the internet.

Of all the immediate reactions he thought he would receive, a text from Louis isn’t what he would have put on the top of the list. It’s what he’s getting though.

 **Louis:** _I’m your favourite ?_ The text reads.

How is that man already awake? Nick was sure he would come home to Louis being passed out in his bed with Pig licking his face. He is also wondering why Louis is listening to the show.

 **Nick:** _Shouldn't you be asleep?_

 **Louis:** _too sick . feel like dying !_

 **Nick:** _don't vomit on my bed please._

 **Nick:** _Also, there is coconut water in the fridge. It's good for hydrating._

 **Nick:** _And I have ginger somewhere in the kitchen. Make yourself a cup of ginger tea. it's good against the nausea._

The song is over before Louis can reply and Nick hopes it means that Louis is on his way to the kitchen and not throwing up in his bedroom. He doesn't really fancy cleaning up after coming home form work. He'd love a nap.

The rest of the interview goes over without a hitch though. Niall makes for brilliant radio with his effortless charm and charisma. He laughs at Nick's bad jokes and makes worse ones himself. He flirts with Fifi and compliments Tina on her excellent presentation of the news. Nick and Fiona decide, that if Niall was free everyday from 6:30 to 10 they both could retire. Niall swears that he will not take their jobs from them, he hates getting up early and then they play another song from his album at the end. Suddenly it's over and Clara is already in the studio, ready to take over.

Nick takes off his headphones with a sigh.

"That's done then."

Fiona shoots him a look.

"You barely did anything today, Grim." She says accusingly.

And that's … fair. Fiona is getting a nice gift basket soon. And Adele. And everyone working on the show today. Especially since he is rushing to get out of the BBC and doesn't stay to grovel and apologise like he probably should.

On the way home, Nick asks the driver to stop in front of a Gregg’s. He buys a sausage roll for Louis and a coffee for himself. He’s not sure what Louis’ preferred hangover brekkie is but he kind of thinks Louis might be a sausage roll guy. He’s definitely not the “work the hangover off at the gym guy” like Harry is.  It’s not until he’s almost home that he thinks about what he’s doing really.

Nick turns the key inside the lock but instead if the usually sound of small doggie paws scuffing on the hardwood floors he is greeted by silence. He lets his bag drop to the floor and takes off his shoes, a pair of black vans that Harry got him, with his toes. There is a small part of him that had expected to come back to his flat being in chaos. Nick leaves his keys and jacket on the table in the hallway and makes his way through the flat. He eventually finds Louis in his bed, where he left him, flanked by his dogs. All three of them sleeping. The paper bag he got with his sausage roll crinkles and Pig lifts her head to investigate. She smells the food and a second later her eyes fly open and she climbs over Louis to get a better sniff. Her tapping and whining when Nick holds the bag further away from her is what wakes Louis up. For someone who talks for a living, words inconveniently fail him, and he just thrusts the bag into Louis’ face. Louis has some colour back in his face and looks better than he did in the early morning, even with the serious bed head going on. Like Pig, the smell of greasy sausage is what gets him interested.

“Is that Greggs?” He asks.

“Erm.... yeah.” Nick nods.

“Why?” Louis asks.

“Dunno… thought you might need it? I’m shit at doing like ... breakfast.” Nick says.

Louis takes the bag from Nick’s hand to take a sniff.

“Fuck yes!” He whispers with his eyes closed.

Nick just stands awkwardly next to the bed while Louis takes two big bites right there in his bed. Louis manages to keep the food out of Pig’s and Stinky’s - who has woken up now - reach and finishes it in record time. Nick doesn't know what to do and so he just stands next to the bed and lets himself be ignored by two dogs and a cute popstar in favour of a Gregg's sausage roll. What has this day turned into?

"So, do you wanna talk about it?" Nick asks when Louis has finished eating and the quiet is becoming too much again. The dogs have settled down again, clearly taking advantage of the fact that no one has kicked them out of the bed yet.

"About what?" Louis asks. He's not meeting Nick's eyes, focused on picking lint off the duvet covers.

"About you getting black out drunk on a Tuesday. Alone. Locking yourself out of your flat. Any of it, really. I'm just making suggestions." Nick ratters of.

He half expects Louis to tell him to fuck off and that it's none of his business. But then again, Louis kind of made it Nick's business when he called him at half 5 in the morning.

"There's not that much to it, mate. Just went to a club." Louis shrugs.

"Alone? Without security or anyone?" Nick doesn't really think it's safe. At least not all alone. He knows that even after all this time, the fans are still as passionate as ever.

"No one was supposed to know it was me. I would have looked like a right knobhead, if I turned up with two bulky lads, wouldn't I?"

"It's …. not really any of my business, but," Nick starts and then realise he has no idea how to finish the sentence without overstepping his boundaries. His mind takes him back to when he was younger and would go clubbing every day of the week because he was a mess back then and didn't know how else to deal with his problems. Or maybe he is just projecting his issues onto a happy popstar wanting to go out for a drink.

"But what?" Louis asks.

"Doesn't matter." Nick decides. "Where did you even go to on a Tuesday?" he asks to change the topic.

Louis tells him the name of the club and for a moment Nick thinks he must have misheard the name. But the way a slight blush is creeping up on Louis' face and the fact that his has started to squirm makes him realise his hearing is just fine.

"What did you go to a gay club for?" Nick asks carefully.

"Was trying to pull a lad …. obviously." Louis shrugs, his face back to looking unimpressed, but Nick can tell it is just a mask.

Nick has heard all the rumours and speculations, of course, but it still surprises him. It must show on his face because Louis frowns at him.

"I thought you knew I was bi." Louis says as he plays with the duvet cover some more.

"No?" Nick says. "How would I know that?"

"I just assumed Harry told you or summat. People know about it." Louis shrugs.

"It's not like we talk about the sexualities of his mates all the time." Nick says. "Unless he is trying to set me up with someone." He adds, for no reason really.

Louis laughs at that.

"Did he try setting you up with this guy Matt already?" he asks, finally looking up.

"Yeah. Worst date ever." Nick shudders. "He told me he doesn't like any music because he doesn't have the time for anything that isn't essential."

"Ugh, I know. I was like, mate, what are you on about? I did feel a bit insulted, to be quite honest." Louis shakes his head.

"I wonder where Harry finds these people. It's like he picks up stray weirdos on the street and they just … end up being friends with him." Nick muses out loud.

"I have no idea. I have wondered this myself. But he never tried to set us up. I've wondered…" Louis trials off.

Nick hums. Right, Harry apparently didn't think they would fit. It irks him, if he is being honest.

Louis looks vaguely human again, but Nick can still smell the club on him; smoke and sweat and generally not too pleasant.

"How about I make us both a cup of tea while you freshen up and we'll talk some more on the sofa? You can tell me more about disastrous dates and going clubbing on a Tuesday. Let me live a little bit through you. How's that sound?" he asks.

Nick has the weird feeling that he is stalling for time and doesn't know what to do with that. He doesn't know why he even worries. Louis is probably more than capable of taking care of himself and definitely no stranger to hangovers. All this is probably a bit stupid of Nick.

But fifteen minutes later Louis is sat on Nick's sofa, once again surrounded by his dogs. Pig is dozing peacefully by his side while Louis strokes her head and Stinky has made himself comfortable in Louis' lap. Nick's dogs have really taken a shine to Louis and Nick can't really blame them. This is the longest he has ever spent talking to Louis outside of an interview and he can tell why people are so easily charmed by him. People always say Harry was the charmer of the band, and it's certainly true to some extend but Nick reckons that people who meet Louis don't know what hit them. He's charming in an approachable and honest ways. He speaks his mind and doesn't let anyone censor him or bend his personality. It shows great character that years of being world famous didn't get to his head and deep down he is still just a Donnie Lad that goes to the club in adidas trackies and a t-shit. Well, the tracksuit is real adidas now, not some adidad or asidas or whatever.

Louis had gladly taken a shower and is now dressed in a pair of Nick's sweatpants and a shirt Nick knows he had "borrowed" from Harry some time ago, but Louis swears it had belonged to him before that. That might explain why it fits so well. Nick had made two cups of ginger tea and Louis had kept the grimacing to a minimum. They are having a dead nice time, sipping tea in silence. It's Louis who breaks it, much to Nick's surprise.

"I'm not ashamed or anything." Louis says, keeping his eyes focused on the mug in his hands.

Nick studies him for a moment, takes in the way Louis' fingers are scratching on the rim of the mug where it is chipped.

"I didn't think you were." He says honestly.

"It's just … easier I guess. There is so much scrutiny as it is. And it's not like I have a serious boyfriend." More shrugging on Louis' part.

"You don't have to explain it to me, you don't owe anyone that. I was surprised, is all." Nick says.

"And it's not just lads… I'm really bi, you know. So, I took the easy road and just dated girls publicly and kept the other stuff private." Louis goes on explaining.

He still isn't looking at Nick, keeps his eyes on everything else and Nick feels it deep in his chest. Louis can downplay it all he wants, but it doesn't take some Sherlock Holmes to figure out that it actually is something that is hurting him.

"Like I said, I get that. I don't think you're doing anything wrong by not being out publicly. It isn't anyone's business what you do and who you love." He says.

Nick wants to reach out and comfort him, but he doesn't know what is allowed. They aren't friends, are they? Instead he just stays quiet and lets his hand pet Pig who looked blissed out between the two of them. She really is an attention whore, not happy until everyone in the room is solely focused on her and her alone.  

"Sometimes I want to come out, you know?" Louis says after a while. "I'm so honest about everything else but this is something I've kept under wraps. I'm not proud of some of the things I said. I … guess I was scared. And if I do come out now, all of it will get dragged into the spotlight again."

Nick winces on Louis' behalf as he remembers some comments and tweets of Louis that he thinks would do better staying in the past. He takes a deep breath.

"We all make mistakes and say shit we don't really mean or that we later realise are wrong. And I think, the public will always find a way to tear you to shreds. It fucking sucks, but I don't think there is anything you can do about it. If you do come out they will tell you should have hidden it, if you hide it and it comes out they will tell you that you should have come out sooner because you owe it to them. And if it's not your sexuality, they will attack something else. Your skin colour, religion, gender or even petty things like the way you look or talk. The anonymity of the internet makes people show their real faces and a lot of them are truly awful. And it has nothing to do with you, so you shouldn't feel bad over anything they say." Nick finishes and turns to look at Louis.

Louis' hand still on Pig's back. The mug in his hands is empty but his grip on it still strong, his knuckles turning white.

"I'm sorry, if I overstepped some boundaries." Nick apologises.

"No, you always say what you think. I like that about you." Louis says and for the first time in a while he looks up at Nick. The hints of a beginning smile on his lips. It's beautiful, Nick can't help but think.  Louis should be smiling all the time. It's brilliant.

"Look, I can't tell you what to do, we aren't that close nor am I one of your media people. I just think that if you want to do it, you shouldn't be thinking about the backlash because those wankers are not worth it. They'd be shit to you either way. You should be thinking about yourself and all the people you might be helping by being your honest self. Because I can tell you, for every awful comment I get, I get two from people thanking me for being so open about myself. And I'm just a nobody really, compared to you. So, if you're not sure, there are all those people out there struggling with their sexuality who are looking for someone who is like them, so they know they are not alone. And you can be that person for them."

It would have been the perfect speech, worthy of romcoms even, had it not been undermined by Nick's stomach growling at the end of it. The sound throws both of them out of the sombre mood, making their bodies shake with laughter. And Nick can't help but feel again that he wants to make Louis laugh all the time, if that is what he looks like, when he does. 

"Sorry," Nick apologises. "Haven't had breakfast yet, usually have it at work and I was too late today."

"Oh God, how bad was it?" Louis shoots up straight from his lounging position, startling Pig, who whines and jumps off the sofa in favour of falling into her doggie bed.

"It was fine, I think." Nick says honestly. "No one ripped my head off, I wasn't fired on the spot. I'm gonna be sending a lot of thank you fruit baskets though."

"I'm so sorry! Tell me if I can do anything? I feel terrible! Should I call in and tell them it is all my fault?" Louis starts to ramble.

"Seriously, don't worry about it, love." Nick smiles before he realises what he just said and he freezes up.

But Louis just smiles back at him reassuringly.

"You know, I've always wondered why Harry never tried to set up a date for us.  I reckon we got quite a lot in common." Louis breaks the silence moments later.

"If I had known, I would have wondered too. He loves setting up people, doesn't he?"

"I though …" A blush is creeping into Louis' cheeks, "it's stupid but I thought maybe he tried but you weren't interested, you know…" Louis trails off.

“You thought I wouldn’t be interested in you?” Nick asks incredulously.

“Well, yeah? I don’t have much going for me have I? Once you take away the singing thing.” Louis laughs, as if he’s making a joke out of it. And this so isn’t on. Nick isn’t letting Louis put himself down again. Not if he has anything to say about it.

“The singing thing, as you put it,” Nick is using air quotes, “is like the least interesting thing about you. I’m not even gonna mention that you’re one of the fittest lads in the country because that would be stating the obvious. But you’re kind and loving.” Louis snorts and Nick stops him with by putting his finger to Louis’ lips. “Don’t laugh, people are being dicks all over the place but even in a business like yours you stayed kind. Everyone knows you love your family, how you fight for them. You were the glue that held the band together for 5 years by being their leader as well as making sure everyone was okay. You carried everyone’s pain on your shoulders and never once complained about it. You’re an angel and I’d be happy to go on a date with you. If I had know… I would have never turned you down!”

Nick wondered where this is all coming from. Of course he had thought about Louis from time to time. But since he had had no idea that there even was a chance, most of his thoughts had revolved about Louis body and were highly hypothetical. They way you think about a hot straight guy.

“Thanks … I … I don’t know I just thought, with that Twitter thing back in the day…” Louis blushes.

“Oh god, I had even forgotten about that. Listen, I’m sorry! I don’t hold it against you what you said… I was being a twat that day and I don’t even remember why, and I never apologised. I was all caught up in my own issues and that’s not an excuse.” He forces himself to look straight into Louis’ eyes, to make him see that he is being sincere.

“Are you over your issues now?” Louis asks.

“I’m a well-adjusted adult, thank you very much!” Nick says and both he and Louis have to laugh at that.

Louis yaws then and it’s contagious. Both of their teas are long gone and while Nick is really hungry still, it’s too soon to eat lunch.

“I could do with a nap, what about you?” Nick asks.

“I’m always up for a nap, and my head is killing me.”

“If you’re comfortable sharing the bed? The sofa is terrible for my back.”

“Like I would make you sleep on the sofa in your own home. No, I’m fine with sharing. Spent 5 years in the road with 4 boys, didn’t I? If anything I have to warn you that I’m in the habit of sleep cuddling.”

“I could do with a good cuddle.” Nick says as he is getting up. He has to turn away from Louis or risk him seeing the blush creeping in on him. The thought of cuddling with Louis has his heart beating faster.

“Lead the way then.”

There is the initial awkwardness when they get to the bedroom. Nick gets rid of his jeans and jumper while Louis chucks off his sweatpants before they both stop in their tracks. Louis looks up, a question in his eyes.

“Go on, get in. You wanna be little spoon?” His voice is steady, but Louis must be able to see the way Nick’s hand shakes as he gestures towards the bed.

Louis follows his instructions and a moment later they are spooning in the middle of Nick's bed. If anyone had asked Nick how he thought this day would go, cuddling Louis Tomlinson would have been dead last on the list. But now that he is here, it's more than nice. Louis used Nick's body wash, but Nick still can detect something _Louis_ underneath it. Louis' soft hair tickles Nick's nose as he presses the body closer towards himself, one arm on the pillow above Louis' head, the other slung over Louis' hips and resting on his chest. Louis' body feels so much smaller like this.

Nick drifts off to sleep much faster than usually. He doesn’t want to think about why he feels so comfortable around Louis.

When Nick wakes up, he is alone. With his eyes still closed he reaches around the bed, searching for Louis but he only finds cold sheets. He has always hated waking up alone, even more so when he fell asleep pressed against someone. Grabbing his phone from the night stand he realises that it’s just gone 3 and he slept so much longer than he thought he would. Cursing quietly, he gets up, not putting on any clothes.

He finds Louis in his kitchen, shirtless and his back towards him. Nick is about say something when he smells it.

“Is something burning in here?”

Louis startles and drops the fork he was holding.

“Fuck, don’t do that!” He exclaims while turning around.

Nick is treated to a full show of Louis’ torso, in all its tattooed glory. It’s a nice chest. Nice tummy too. Nothing Nick would ever turn down.

“What are doing?” Nick asks once he’s gotten his fill of ogling and he starts to feel like a creep.

“Was trying to make you lunch, wasn’t I.”

As Nick looks past Louis he sees smoke coming out of a pan, the contents burned to a crisp. Judging by the packet of bacon next to it Nick can only guess what Louis was trying to make. There is also a carton of eggs and slices of toast out on the counter. Nick is certain that neither of it is coming from his fridge.

“Did you go to the shops?” Nick asks confused.

“Nope, your neighbours are really friendly people. Let me borrow everything. Don’t worry I’m gonna pop into Tesco later and give everything back to them!”

“You Rang their bell dressed like that?” Nick wants to laugh. He has celebs walking through his front door from time to time and no one has ever talked to the press but he fears a half naked Louis Tomlinson could tempt someone.

“What?” Louis looks down himself . “Oh no, I had a shirt on but I spilled water all over myself and took it off.”

“In any case, I think that’s burned enough now.” Nick says and reaches over Louis to turn off the stove. The pan has started to smoke and the smell is driving him mad.

“Right, sorry. I was looking for the tea and it slipped my mind.”

“Are you always this helpless in the kitchen? How do you survive on your own?”

“Take away and delivery, mostly, if I’m honest. Been a while since I had a proper cooked meal.”

This just makes Nick sad. If he wasn’t half starving, he start making a roast right about now. He’s nowhere near as good as his mum but it’s definitely able Louis’ level of cooking.

“Delivery sounds good right about now, I reckon.”

Within five minutes they have agreed on getting curries and having ordered they go back to lounging in the couch. Neither of them mentions the others’s state of undress. It’s quite domestic and very boyfriend-y. Nick likes it.

The food arrives quickly, and Louis insists on paying, stating that Nick had already done so much for him, the least he can do is pay for their lunch. They eat in front of the telly, half watching a rerun of last night’s Love Island. Nick is delighted to learn that Louis is as obsessed with the programme as he is, and they chat about favourites and who they would shag off the show.

As their plates start to empty, they both slow down. Dread is building up in Nick’s stomach as he clears away the rubbish that is left over. This has been going on longer than he would have thought it was going to, but he also enjoyed it so much more. And now there wasn’t anything left to do besides getting the spare key from Harry’s and getting Louis home. Louis starts to gather his things and Nick insists on him keeping the shirt and sweatpants. Especially since the shirt technically belongs to him anyway. Nick also grabs the dogs’ leashes, figuring they would love a walk in the park after dropping Louis off.

“Are you taking the dogs?” Louis asks, already waiting by the door.

“Yeah, they always go mad for walk. Thought I’d throw them a couple of balls in the park.” Stinky and Pig come charging down the stairs as the heat the sound of their leashes, paws tapping and tails waggling. It’s like they haven’t seen the outside in weeks instead of less than 24 hours.

“Cliff is with Lottie right now. I’m meant to pick him up this afternoon.” Louis says. “Clifford is my dog.” He adds, but of course Nick knows about Cliff. He might not be following Louis on instagram but he’s a radio 1 host and keeping up with celebs is his job. Especially if their Instagram involves cute dogs.

“We could pick him up and then go to park together? Cliff would love some doggie company...” Louis tone rises as he trials off.

Nick is too stunned to answer right away which Louis must read as hesitation because moments later he takes back his offer.

“Right, sorry, you’ve had enough of me for one day. I’ll let you off the hook!”

“No!” Nick says, way too fast. “I quite like that actually. I was thinking about ways to extend this day. Is that weird?”

Everyone who thought that Nick wasn’t able to talk about his feelings would be so proud of him in this moment. This was probably the most honest thing regarding his feelings Nick has ever said to a boy. And he gets rewarded for it when Louis’ face lights up.

“Yeah? It's not weird, no. I feel the same.” Louis smiles.

“Good.”

The car takes them first to Lottie’s place where Louis quickly picks up Clifford. Nick stays behind in the car. They then head over to Harry’s flat to get Louis’ keys. They also hide a couple of post it notes with cock and balls drawn on them all over Harry’s flat because as it turns out, Nick and Louis have quite a similar mind when it comes to pranks among friends. Harry won't be coming back home from tour until the summer, but he'll find the notes eventually. Afterwards they go to Louis' flat and Nick again stays in the car even though he really wants to see it. But Louis says he'll only be a minute, changing into proper clothes. He comes back out wearing light-washed jeans, another white t-shirt and a beanie and sunglasses. Nick figures the beanie and sunglasses are to make him less recognisable, although the tattoos on his arm are a dead giveaway to anyone who knows Louis.

They go to a park near Louis' flat since Pig and Stinky are dogs and therefore who don't care in which park they are running around and Nick just wants to be with Louis. It's strange to think that so much can change in a day. When they get to the park there is a lot of running around and sniffing butts on the side of the dogs, and quiet conversation and a sneaky cigarette on Nick and Louis' side. They talk about everything from family to where they see themselves in 5 years and if Nick didn't know any better he would say this all is very first date like. But it's not a date. It's just two people realising they got more in common than previously thought and wanting to spend more time together. When there is a lull in conversation, Nick goes to watch their dogs together. Like him, his dogs are very sociable and Clifford doesn't seem to mind one bit. There is no fighting between him and Stinky.

"What are you thinking about?" Louis says when Nick has been quiet for a while.

"Just how great our dogs get along." Nick smiles.

Louis hums in agreement.

They have been slowly walking through the park for the past hour now and Louis mentioned he is stilly feeling the last effects of the hangover, so they decide to sit down on a bench in the shadow under a big tree. It's a warm and sunny day, the perfect weather for being in the park, really. Families with children are everywhere, there are other dog owners talking their pets on a walk. People in business outfits have started to stroll through the park, getting a bit of sunshine on their way home from work. It's idyllic. Nick doesn't want to go home.

They stay on sitting on the bench until Nick notices the sun starting to get really low. By now he knows Louis' favourite music, food, country he's been to, and so much more trivial information that Nick is just soaking up. It's quite a trust that Louis puts in Nick, when he knows that Nick could be blabbing it out to the whole nation in less than 12 hours if he wanted to. Not that he would, of course.

When the dogs are all dozing in front of their feet Nick reckons it's time to head back. He still doesn't want to. Slowly they get up from the bench, Nick stretches and hears some bones crack after sitting in one position for to long.

"What now?" he asks.

"We could walk back to my flat? I don't think any driver would be all too happy with three dogs in the car. They last one certainly wasn't."

Nick looks down at his dogs, both looking refreshed, so he figures they are well up for it. In any case, he would carry them if he had to. Everything to spend another half hour in Louis' company. 

The walk back is quieter, neither of them speaking very much. Nick watches the dogs happily bouncing a couple of feet in front of them. The streets are relatively empty, the people around them paying no attention to him and Louis. Nick hadn't thought that Louis would get away with not getting recognised all afternoon, he would have thought that at least once he would have to take a picture of Louis with a sobbing fan. Maybe the beanie and sunglasses combo does actually work. Or maybe the times are changing and Nick just hadn't realised. Louis certainly isn't the same loud boy he was when Nick met him for the first time. He is still in there, but he matured into a man who uses his voice wisely, who knows the great responsibility that is on him and carries it without complaint while at the same time still remaining unapologetically himself. Nick should have been paying more attention to Louis.

Nick is so lost in his thoughts, trying to figure out what he is feeling that he isn't paying attention to where is arm swings. All he knows is that suddenly his hand brushes Louis' and a spark like electricity is running through him. He doesn't dare turning his head to look at Louis. His heart is racing again. He keeps on walking for a minute before he repeats the touch deliberately, moving his fingers slightly as to letting Louis know what he is doing. This time he can fell Louis pressing back against him slightly. The touch is so short and simple but Nick can feel a warmth spreading in his chest. The next time he tries, their finger brush. The next time Nicks finger's catch on Louis'. Nick has no idea what he is doing anymore. His mind is blank and his is acting on his heart alone.

Then all of a sudden Louis stops walking. Nick turns around, ready to apologise but before he can speak Louis opens his mouth.

"We're … we're here."

A blush has settled on Louis' cheeks. It might have been the sunshine, or it might have been something else, but in any case, Nick wants to keep a mental image of it forever. Louis looks radiant, the sun casting him in a soft orange glow. Nick takes a couple of steps closer, his eyes never leaving Louis' face. There is a cluster of freckles on his left cheek that Nick has never notices before and it reminds him of star constellations. He feels the strange need to touch it. But of course, he doesn't. Instead he says,

"Oh, right, sorry. Didn't realise." 

Then he cringes. What a stupid thing to say.

They continue looking at each other, neither of them speaking. Nick is desperately searching his brain for something to say. Anything that doesn't make him look like a complete idiot. He feels like his back at uni again, going on his first dates and feeling like a right tit after every sentence. But again, this isn't even a date. This is two lads walking their dog and brushing hands while walking. Knowing Louis is bi doesn’t change anything. He needs to keep that in mind.

In the end it is Louis who is the first one to speak. Louis, being the braver of the two of them.

"Do you wanna come inside?" he asks quietly.

"Um, yes?" Nick says and curses his voice going up at them end.

"I don't mean like …. Like I'm being presumptuous here …" Louis mumbles and Nick is glad that he isn't the only one who has no idea what they are doing here. "I mean I don't have any real food but like I have beer? Or wine? … I think. And I definitely have Netflix. We could watch something?" Then he blushes. "Not in a Netflix and chill way, but it like a Netflix and … chill? You know. Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck."

At that, Nick can't help himself but laugh. It's a bubbly sort of laugh, releasing all of the nervousness from his body. His heart is still beating faster but not in an anxious way anymore. Especially not when Louis joins in with a giggling laugh.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit rusty when it comes to this. Let me rephrase." He takes a breath to compose himself. "Do you want to come inside for a drink? We can continue talking or watch something. I don't mind either way, I just had a really great time today. And I'd like to talk to you some more."

He looks really pleased with himself when he is finished. Nick thinks it's adorable.

"Yes, I would like that very much." Nick smiles. "And don't worry, the last time I did _this_ ," he gestures with his hands between them, "Netflix and chill wasn't even a thing. I reckon I'm more than rusty."

They both laugh as they head inside, their dogs following them.


End file.
